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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,371 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2015 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

engine problem

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2015 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #27

Nov 092022

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought my 2015 Chevy Malibu in 2016 at 36k miles. No wrecks, 1 owner before myself. No warning lights on when driving from the lot and the car was just what I wanted-€¦ tho always a little doubtful because it was pre owned 1) there was always this random, unusual, indescribable smell from the vents where I couldn-€™t breathe but no one else could smell or experience it. I just kept getting sick. 2) I thought -€œMY-€ first 30k miles or so was rolling too fast and 3-5 months in, the ENGINE light popped on. Immediately took it to Chevy who said my engine light was on due to an -€œairbag-€ but wouldn-€™t tell me which unless I paid 70$. 3) Still, driving was not affected so I kept taking it to the Chevy dealer every 3-6 months for the proper maintenance. About 2 years in I go for an oil change at CHEVY: one guy pours RADIATOR fluid in my OIL compartment during the oil change. Just before he realizes it-€™s the wrong thing and looks to see if I saw, I alert the manager who immediately drains the oil and says it won-€™t be affected.. and assures me everything is fine. 🤷🏽-€-™€ï¸ 4) 4 years ownership, the service stability track message started appearing and the ENGINE POWER REDUCED SPEED LIMITED TO 25 MPH starts popping up on the screen and simultaneously the car DANGEROUSLY goes from highway speed to 25mph. ONLY Jesus mercy! That-€™s a death trap in itself. Still no recalls and no help. Temp fix (get to safety, turn off vehicle, wait 30 sec-1 min and restart) 5) At 150k miles, I returned to get transmission flush.change.check whatever the best procedure was. Chevy says, I wouldn-€™t because it doesn-€™t have to be serviced on these vehicle. yet they send me coupons for trans services. 6)JUST put on new tires, oil, oil cabin, and engine filters changed. Car riding smoothly then 4 days later I start it and up pops a message about SERVICE POWER STEERING: drive with care! No Gearshift lights. And it-€™s an EPS system! Something is WRONG with these cars. 7) Paint defects along pass. side

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #26

Nov 042022

Malibu

  • miles
I was almost to work on the highway and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced. It quickly started powering down from 74 directly to 50 then 40, then 35 and finally to 26 before I could safely pull off to the side of the road. This issue is getting worse it takes at least 10 minutes of waiting and turning my car off and on before it is back to normal. Others have said that they have gone to the garage and had it replaced and it just continues to happen. This needs to be a recall and not just a change of parts every few months.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #25

Oct 302022

Malibu

  • miles
I was on the highway traveling at around 68 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. Fortunately I was able to pull of to the side of the road quickly and I turned off my car, waited for a bit and then turned it back on, it still said Engine Power is Reduced, so I turned it back off and waited again. This was at night, in the dark and it was not a pleasant experience to be pulled to the side of the road with your hazard lights on while traffic just buzzes by and your vehicle is disabled. This happened three times in one day during one trip. It's absolutely ridiculous and numerous other people have the same issue.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #24

Oct 302022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving back home from Harrisburg, PA on the highway traveling at around 72 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. It took quite a while to find a place to pull of to the side of the road because of the area I was in. It was quite frightening because everyone else is going the actual speed limit of 70 mph or over. By the time I found a place to pull over my car was reduced to less than 25 mph. As usual, I turned off my car, waited for a bit and then turned it back on, it still said Engine Power is Reduced, so I turned it back off and waited again. I turned it back on and it still said Engine Power is Reduced so I had to turn it back off again and wait. I turned it back on and it was fine again.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #23

Oct 302022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving to Harrisburg, PA on the highway traveling at around 68 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. Then it counted down very quickly to 35 and then 25 before I could find a safe place to pull off to the side of the road. I turned off my car, waited for a bit and then turned it back on, it still said Engine Power is Reduced, so I turned it back off and waited again. I turned it back on and it still said Engine Power is Reduced so I had to turn it back off again and wait. Sitting along side the road on the highway is not pleasant. I turned it back on and it was fine again.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #22

Oct 262022

Malibu

  • miles
I was on my way to work and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced. I was in road construction and only going about 5 mph. I turned off my car and waited for about a minute as I just happened to be stopped waiting for the sign to turn for me to go and turned it back on, but it still said Engine Power is Reduced. I turned it back off and waited for another few seconds and turned it back on and it was ok again. This happens so frequently it's appalling.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #21

Oct 232022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My dad was driving my car when the car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced Speed reduced to 25 mph. He pulled off to the side of the road and turned off my car. He waited for about 2 minutes and turned it back on, but it still said Engine Power is Reduced. He turned it back off and waited for 5 minutes and turned it back on and it was ok again.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #20

Oct 172022

Malibu

  • miles
I had almost gotten to the exit from the highway to get to my job, I was driving at approximately 56 mph. And my car dashboard started saying Engine Power is Reduced and then it started to flash slowing to 52 mph, slowing to 48 mph, etc. Fortunately I was able to safely make my exit and pull into a parking lot where I turned my car off and waited for 5 minutes and turned it back on it still said Engine Power is Reduced, so I repeated that procedure of turning off and turning on and was finally able to go to work. This is insane and needs to be recalled.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #19

Oct 172022

Malibu

  • miles
My vehicle dashboard says Engine Power is reduced. This has happened to me before and I know that it starts slowing down quickly and then just stops. I turned off my car and waited for three minutes, and turned my car back on - it still showed Engine Power is Reduced, so I turned it back off for about 5 minutes and turned it back on and then it was back to normal. I've reported this before. This is extremely dangerous on a regular road and it could be catastrophic if it would happen on the highway.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #18

Sep 172022

Malibu

  • miles
I was going out for breakfast and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced. I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off my car. I waited for about 5 minutes and turned it back on, but it still said Engine Power is Reduced. I turned it back off and waited for another 5 minutes and turned it back on and it was ok again.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #17

Oct 132022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle dashboard says Engine Power Reduced then proceeds to slowing to 35 then counts down quickly. This morning I was in an area that I couldn't pull off to the side for about 1/2 mile. It slows down to the point that it's frightening then it goes to zero and will not move! Fortunately I was in an area where I could finally pull off to the side of the road when it got to that point. This has happened numerous times in this vehicle. A quick search on Google shows that this is a HUGE problem with this make, model and year. This is extremely dangerous. I have to turn my car off for about 5 minutes before my car is back to working condition.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #16

Sep 152022

Malibu

  • miles
My vehicle dashboard says Engine Power reduced - slowing to 35. This has happened to me before and I know that it starts slowing down quickly and then just stops, so I pulled of to the side of the road and put on my flashers, turned off my car and waited for several minutes and then it was back to normal. I've reported this before. This is extremely dangerous on a regular road and it could be catastrophic if it would happen on the highway.

- Lock Haven, PA, USA

problem #15

Nov 112021

Malibu

  • miles
On 11-11-21 my check engine light came on and message came up reducing engine power and also my speed was reduced. Stability track light came on. Took to shop they repaired but a week later same exact problems occurred. Took back to shop. So far hasn-€™t happened again. My husband Chevy equinox all of a sudden car does the same exact thing. The check engine light went off so he-€™s watching

- Chicago , IL, USA

problem #14

Oct 222021

Malibu

  • miles
P16cf dtc and check engine light after some engine noise and an incident where I was trying to accelerate around an obstacle but was unable to. The car bottomed out and would not accelerate until I took my foot off the gas and tried again more slowly. It's an issue with the intake solenoid rocker arm (oil control valve). The issue with this particular part was noted on earlier Malibu models but not mine. I have not taken it to the dealer yet as I am out of the power train warranty.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #13

Mar 242021

Malibu

  • 71,000 miles
I can be driving at normal speed and I receive an error that the engine power is reducing and the speed shifts down & I am unable to exceed 25 mph. The check engine light pops on & also an error regarding stabil loc needs to be serviced. My car has automatically shut off in the middle of traffic. I've had to pull over to a safe medium on the highway and mostly when the error occurs, I'm not able to turn a corner at a safe speed. Although I am able to start it right back off the error still persists. I have had what "they say" is the issue repaired twice but as soon as I get the car back, I have the same issue 1-3 days later.

- Fort Smith, AR, USA

problem #12

Mar 022021

Malibu

  • 142,770 miles
When turning left from a stop my car all at once said engine power reduced to 25mph, service airbag, service stabilitrac, and service brake assist.

- Albion, IN, USA

problem #11

Jan 242021

Malibu

  • 85,000 miles
On 1-24-2021, while driving the car initially had issues gaining acceleration despite pressing the gas pedal. Once I was able to get the car to reach a speed of 40mph I received a warning on the dash stating the car's speed is being reduced to 25mph, followed by a message that said reduced engine power and the check engine light came on. This led to the car stalling and eventually shutting down about 2-3 minutes later. I was able to pull to the side of the road before the car shut down and turned the hazard lights on. After approximately 20 minutes I was able to start the car. The reduced engine power message remained along with a new message of service stabilitrak. I was still unable to accelerate beyond 25mph which was below the minimum speed for the road I was driving on.

- Cleveland Heights, OH, USA

problem #10

Apr 012018

Malibu

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while at a complete stop; the vehicle accelerated independently once his foot slipped off the brake pedal and crashed into the vehicle ahead of him without warning. The air bags did not deploy and no injuries were reported. A police report was not filed and the contact was able to drive away from the scene. The contact also stated that the passenger seat had broke as a result of the accident. The contact linked the failure to the auto engine idle stop feature on the vehicle. The contact spoke to keyes Chevrolet (5949 van nuys blvd, sherman oaks, ca 91401) about disabling the auto engine idle stop feature on the vehicle and he was informed that the feature could not be disabled. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

problem #9

Mar 042020

Malibu

  • 125,000 miles
The car reduced speed while my wife and grands where in traffic almost causing an accident reduced to 25 mph on highway

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #8

Oct 212019

Malibu

  • 38,000 miles
I was stopped at a light at a very busy intersection (auto off engaged). When I started to move, the car would barely go (auto off was disengaged). It was jerking as I was giving it gas. The service stabilitrak message came on and my check engine light came on. I managed to pull into a parking lot, put it in park and then I tried to rev the engine and it just didn't want to. I shut it off and then turned it back on and the message disappeared. I drove back to work and it seemed fine, but for months now, it seems when I go to take off, it hesitates a bit before going.

- Caledonia, MI, USA

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